A medium-sized woodpecker with (in most areas) a white back, white-spotted black wings (spotting is reduced in Rocky Mountains), a relatively large bill, white underparts, and a black head with two large white bars on each side; tail is black centrally, white on the sides; plumage that is white in most of the range is pale gray-brown in the Pacific Northwest; adult males have a red bar across the back of the head, young males have an orange- or red-streaked crown; juveniles (particularly in Maritime Provinces) have some dark barring on the bank and flanks; average length 24 cm.

Diagnostic Characteristics

Differs from the Downy Woodpecker in larger size (average length 24 cm vs. 17 cm), larger bill (about as long as head vs. obviously shorter than head), absence of black bars or spots on outer tail feathers (downy generally has spots), and sharper call note ("peek!" vs. "pik"). Differs from Three-toed and Black-backed Woodpeckers in lacking dark barring on the sides (may be present on flanks of juveniles).

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)

Migration

Migration not observed per se, although vertical migration to valleys is seen in late September (Skaar 1969).

Habitat

In forest burns near Missoula, birds chose larch over Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine for nesting (Harvey 1982). Primarily a forest bird; widely distributed in regions where mature woodlands prevalent. Also occurs in small woodlots, wooded parks, cemeteries, shaded residential areas, and other urban areas with mature shade trees, but often scarce within these habitats (Jackson et al. 2002).

Ecological Systems Associated with this Species

Details on Creation and Suggested Uses and Limitations

How Associations Were Made
We associated the use and habitat quality (high, medium, or low) of each of the 82 ecological systems mapped in Montana for
vertebrate animal species that regularly breed, overwinter, or migrate through the state by:

Evaluating structural characteristics and distribution of each ecological system relative to the species’ range and habitat requirements;

Examining the observation records for each species in the state-wide point database associated with each ecological system;

Calculating the percentage of observations associated with each ecological system relative to the percent of Montana covered by each ecological system to get a measure of “observations versus availability of habitat”.

Species that breed in Montana were only evaluated for breeding habitat use, species that only overwinter in Montana were only evaluated for overwintering habitat use, and species that only migrate through Montana were only evaluated for migratory habitat use.
In general, species were associated as using an ecological system if structural characteristics of used habitat documented in the literature were present in the ecological system or large numbers of point observations were associated with the ecological system.
However, species were not associated with an ecological system if there was no support in the literature for use of structural characteristics in an ecological system, even if point observations were associated with that system.
High, medium, and low habitat quality was assigned based on the degree to which the structural characteristics of an ecological system matched the preferred structural habitat characteristics for each species in the literature.
The percentage of observations associated with each ecological system relative to the percent of Montana covered by each ecological system was also used to guide assignments of habitat quality.
If you have any questions or comments on species associations with ecological systems, please contact Bryce Maxell at bmaxell@mt.gov or (406) 444-3655.

Suggested Uses and Limitations
Species associations with ecological systems should be used to generate potential lists of species that may occupy broader landscapes for the purposes of landscape-level planning.
These potential lists of species should not be used in place of documented occurrences of species (this information can be requested at: http://mtnhp.org/requests/default.asp) or systematic surveys for species and evaluations of habitat at a local site level by trained biologists.
Users of this information should be aware that the land cover data used to generate species associations is based on imagery from the late 1990s and early 2000s and was only intended to be used at broader landscape scales.
Land cover mapping accuracy is particularly problematic when the systems occur as small patches or where the land cover types have been altered over the past decade.
Thus, particular caution should be used when using the associations in assessments of smaller areas (e.g., evaluations of public land survey sections).
Finally, although a species may be associated with a particular ecological system within its known geographic range, portions of that ecological system may occur outside of the species’ known geographic range.

Maxell, B.A. 2000. Management of Montana’s amphibians: a review of factors that may present a risk to population viability and accounts on the identification, distribution, taxonomy, habitat use, natural history, and the status and conservation of individual species. Report to U.S. Forest Service Region 1. Missoula, MT: Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana. 161 p.

Tree surface and subsurface arthropods and a diversity of fruits and seeds. Readily comes to feeders (Jackson et al. 2002).

Ecology

In Glacier National Park, birds were found feeding on an epidemic population of mountain pine beetles. Of 8 nesting pairs, one nested in lodgepole pine, the rest in aspen.

Reproductive Characteristics

Cavity nester. In western North America, more often in large dead stubs or in some areas in aspen with fungal decay. Eggs are oval to elliptical-oval, shiny white in color and somewhat translucent when fresh. Two independent studies list clutch size mean as 3.93 eggs and 4.09 eggs (Jackson et al. 2002). Near Fortine, young in nests seen from May 18 to June 26; flying young seen June 28 (valleys) and July 27 (mountains). Statewide, nesting records are for June (Davis 1961).

Citation for data on this website:Hairy Woodpecker — Picoides villosus. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Retrieved on August 2, 2015, from http://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=ABNYF07040